U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) speaks to members of the media alongside fellow Republicans during a press conference following Republicans weekly policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 3, 2025.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
As congressional Democrats push to tie extending Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies to the government funding fight, Republican leaders say they’re willing to debate the issue — but not until after a shutdown is averted.
“The Obamacare subsidies is a policy debate that has to be determined by the end of the year … not right now, while we’re simply trying to keep the government open,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
His comments were echoed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who called the ACA, also known as Obamacare, a program “in desperate need of reform.”
“We acknowledge that there’s gonna have to be — hopefully there’ll be some steps taken that can address the concerns that Democrats have,” he said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” “But you can’t do this by Tuesday.”
Their comments threw cold water on Democrats’ main sticking point just days before the government is poised to shut down.
If the ACA tax credits expire at the end of the year, premiums could soar for millions of Americans, a reality that could prove to be a political vulnerability for Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
With the budget funding deadline looming, President Donald Trump is poised to meet on Monday with the top four congressional leaders — Johnson, Thune, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
The scheduled meeting comes after Trump last week abruptly cancelled a meeting with Democratic leadership, saying that no meeting “could possibly be productive.”
It remains unclear whether the 11th-hour meeting will yield a deal that averts a shutdown on Tuesday at midnight.
“[Trump] wants to talk with Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries and just try to convince them to follow common sense and do what’s right by the American people,” Speaker Johnson said Sunday.
Schumer, for his part, said that the prospect of a government shutdown “depends on the Republicans.”
“We need the meeting. It’s a first step, but only a first step. We need a serious negotiation,” Schumer said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
Democrats have repeatedly insisted that any government funding proposal include an extension of the Obamacare tax credits.
They remained firm with their demands on Sunday.
“We actually need to enact legislation to ensure that the Affordable Care Act tax credits are extended,” Jeffries said, warning that “notices” are set to begin going out for the millions of Americans who rely on the subsidies.
Republicans, however, argue that there is still time to hammer out a deal on the subsidies.
“That doesn’t happen until the end of the year,” Thune said during an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
“We can have that conversation, but before we do, release the hostage, set the American people free, keep the government open.”
Republicans in the Senate need eight Democrats to vote with them to pass their continuing resolution through the upper chamber, Thune said, a prospect that, at this point, seems difficult.
